This invention relates generally to boxing gloves that are safer than conventional boxing gloves now in use, and which provide better protection both for the wearer and his opponent.
Most conventional boxing gloves are constructed generally like a mitten with a separate inner pocket for the palm of a boxer's hand and with an attached thumb portion extending from the palm of the glove. The thumb portion of the glove presents a source of danger to both contestants and is a continuing problem in both professional and amateur boxing contests. Because the thumb may be moved away from the mitt or back portion of the glove, there constantly is a risk of dislocation or more serious injury to the wearer's thumb by snagging or striking a part of his opponent's body. This causes the thumb to be twisted or bent back resulting in injury to the thumb of the boxer, particularly with bulky thumb portions of conventional boxing gloves.
The separate glove thumb also permits a boxer to avail himself of an unfair and illegal opportunity of thumb-gouging an opponent's eye or other part of the face, particularly with glancing blows. The separate glove thumb also facilitates objectionable holding or clenching tactics.
Various attempts have been made to provide a thumbless boxing glove, including the patented art. Although prior thumbless boxing gloves are effective in eliminating the bulky thumb portion which could cause injury to an opponent, prior thumbless gloves still permit too much flexibility of the wearer's thumb particularly in the area of the inner or second joint thereof. The thumb still can move outwardly of the remaining fingers of the hand and cause dislocation and other serious injury.
Another yet similar problem concerns the use of the padded extremity of a boxing glove unfairly and illegally against an opponent by a tactic commonly called "palming." Conventional boxing gloves normally have a soft padded back portion and a palm portion. The padded back portion is curved around the end of the boxing glove toward the palm portion, resulting in a projection which can cause injury to an opponent similar to that of the projecting thumb portion. It would be desirable to provide a boxing glove which not only provides sufficient padded protection for the wearer about the forward extremity of the glove, but which would prevent the glove from being opened sufficiently to use the forward, inner padded projection thereof unfairly and illegally against an opponent. This also would reduce objectionable holding or clenching tactics.
The present invention is directed to solving the above and similar problems of conventional boxing gloves now in use.